We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mecha Swain a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Mecha, appreciate you joining us today. Your ability to build a team is often a key determinant of your success as a business owner and so we’d love to get a conversation going with successful entrepreneurs like yourself around what your recruiting process was like -especially early on. How did you build your team?

When I brought my business back durirng the pandemic in 2020, I started with a team of 8. Currently, I have about 35 people on my team. In 2020, I turned my garage into a recording studio. I outgrew the space in no time. I opened a studio in 2022. When I first started recruiting, I was nervous. I wanted people to understand and accept my goals and everything I want to accomplish. I started putting out ads everywhere to build my team. Currenlty, I have 800 applications and tons of emails from individuals who want to join my team.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I started my independent production company called Mecha Media. I created a brand called SlapStik Comedy Entertainment to fill a void in comedy. SlapStik Comedy is a platform that showcases comedians through SlapStik Comedy Magazine, Radio, and TV. When I was in college, I majored in Communications. I studied broadcasting and journalism. I knew I wanted to create something different and something that wasn’t already on the table. That was the birth of SlapStik Comedy Magazine. I am most proud of the team that I built. My team is dedicated and extremely loyal. I have my own team of illustrators, graphic designers, writers, media, content and video editors. I also created a screenwriting team. My goal is to create an all-comedy network.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I started Mecha Media/SlapStik Comedy in 2005 I was a single mother with two sons. My father truly supported me. Whenever I traveled or had to attend events late at night, my father stayed with my sons. My father always watched my sons on Wednesday nights, those were the nights I wrote reviews on comedy shows at the Funny Bone Comedy Club in Columbus, Ohio. One weekend, Kevin Hart came to Columbus. On this particular night, I called my father and told him that I was going to let the boys stay at home, but I asked him to check on them. My fatherly lived up the street from me. I don’t have any other family members in Columbus at that time. On that night, I hung out with Kevin Hart and had a great time. The next day was Saturday, the day before Father’s Day (2008) and I had plans with my father. I called him at 7:00 am, which is the time he called me every morning, since I moved out of the house at 18 years old. No answer and I knew that was weird. Long story short, when I went to pick my father up to spend Father’s Day with him, he was close to dead. (We kept him on life support for one week) After my father passed, I didn’t have the support I needed for my sons so, I stopped running SlapStik in 2011. I promised myself and everyone else that once the boys graduated from high school, I would bring SlapStik back. My sons graduated in 2016 and 2018. I brought SlapStik back in 2020 during the pandemic. In 2020, I turned my garage into a recording studio. I needed more space to create content so I opened SlapStik Comedy studio in 2022 that has an office, podcast room, and a green screen room.

Any advice for managing a team?

Again, I must brag on how loyal my team is. Every Sunday, I meet with my teams via Teams. My team is located throughout the US. I meet with my media team at 1:30p, I meet with my full team at 2:30p, and then I meet with my screenwriting team at 4:00p. I don’t try to be a bossy boss, I want to be a great and fun leader. I give my team free rein. Each writer chooses what they want to write about. They pitch their idea to me, we brainstorm, and then I approve. I have a very creative team. During our calls, we discuss and review content for the magazine. Our lead designer shows the pages that are designed. The illustrator will share what he is working on, and then my team is not shy to giving feedback whether it’s suggestions on colors, adding artwork, or moving pieces around. The writers discuss what they are working on, or an interview they just conducted, or the comedian they want to work with. The Editor-in-Chief discusses the content we will create for the week. Sometimes a comedian joins our calls and we get plenty of laughs from that. We discuss our numbers. I share all updates related to SlapStik Comedy with my team. Our meetings are brainstorming sessions and we are very strategic. I carefully pick my team. It feels good to see that there are a total of 767 applications. Also, I make time for my team no matter what. I don’t care what I’m doing, if they need to talk, I make myself available. I’ve been in the gym on the treadmill when several from my team contacted me. My team expressed to me that’s what makes it more exciting, having free rein.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://comedyslaps.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slapstik_comedy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/slapstikcomedy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timechaswain/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/slapstikmag
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SlapStikMag/videos
• Other: https://linktr.ee/SlapStikComedy

Image Credits
The SlapStik Comedy Team